dylan haefner

dylan haefner’s practice explores the sliver where people and place tangle, where connection and isolation exchange meaning. through photographs of landscapes, objects, and quiet rituals, he examines how identity embeds itself within everyday forms such as trees, chairs, fruit, and overlooked gestures. working primarily with staged and observational approaches, his practice draws from personal history, language, and cultural symbolism to investigate longing, absence, and the fragile space between comfort and fracture.

projects often center on sites and moments that exist in tension: domestic spaces rearranged after loss, and pears carrying layered meanings across myth and language. these recurring motifs operate as emotional signifiers, reflecting questions around intimacy, avoidance, desire, and the substitutions we make for touch and connection.

balancing stillness with unease, the images expand small objects and subtle gestures until they hold a bodily presence. by allowing awkwardness and ambiguity to remain visible, the work invites viewers to sit with uncertainty and notice what quietly lingers. the practice ultimately reflects on the in-between spaces where memory settles, where separation and closeness coexist, and where the ordinary carries unexpected psychological weight.

currently based in austin, texas

photo@dylanhaefner.com

cv